Monster Hunter WildsArch-Tempered Uth Duna Guide - Weaknesses, Location, Armor & More

The Arch-Tempered Uth Duna is an enhanced version of the Scarlet Forest’s apex predator. It features new attacks, modifications to its mechanics, and greatly increased health and damage, all of which contribute to its place as one of the greatest challenges in Monster Hunter Wilds alongside fellow Arch-Tempered Rey Dau.

Arch-Tempered Uth Duna is first unlocked through the quest These Roots Run Deep, requiring hunter rank 50 or higher to challenge. While initially advertised differently, this quest’s availability has changed from temporary to being added to the game indefinitely. In addition, a Free Challenge Quest where hunters are challenged to hunt down the Arch-Tempered Uth Duna as quickly as possible to earn cosmetics will be added in the near future.

NOTE: Information about the regular Uth Duna is covered in its own guide. This one focuses primarily on the Arch-Tempered’s unique traits.

This guide is written by @Karunaguin.

Uth Duna moves a great deal during its quests. In the Scarlet Forest, it can be found starting in Area 17 in the shallow water. After enough time/damage, it generally migrates to below the dam rubble in Area 15, and then to Area 13 and/or 12 depending on how much damage you do and if you interrupt its swimming with unstable rubble found in area 13.

If left alone, Uth Duna is more than willing to swim back to the shore of Area 17 or the water of Area 15 which is generally disadvantageous if you’ve already hit her with the rubble found there.

As the peak of endgame content, arch-tempered monsters require a great amount of preparation. Here are some all-encompassing suggestions for preparing to take the Arch-Tempered Uth Duna on:

Meals

The time-limited Flamefete Barbecue Meal is clearly intended for Arch-Tempered Uth Duna, releasing on the same date and featuring very helpful enhancements to swimming in addition to good survivability. The Fresh-Sild Cuisine also serves well, featuring two strong skills that negate death which help greatly against Uth Duna’s one and two-shot moves and a buff to capture loot that is unquestionably recommended against this boss.

Mantles

The Evasion Mantle and Rocksteady Mantle are both good choices, the first allowing for much-needed repositioning into Uth Duna’s blind spots and the second giving more room to breath when taking Uth Duna’s immensely damaging attacks.

Skills

Aquatic/Oilsilt Mobilityis a near must-have without the effects of the Flamefete Barbecue Meal, giving a much needed boost to movement speed when in water. Given how overwhelmingly prevalent water is in Uth Duna’s battlegrounds, this is a clear choice.

In addition, the level two effect can help greatly by negating the moving effects of the waves that Arch-Tempered Uth Duna so regularly spawns in. Evade Extender is another fantastic defensive option, making repositioning to take advantage of Uth Duna’s weaknesses much faster.

Element

Uth Duna is greatly vulnerable to Thunder damage, using it is highly recommended given the great increase to Arch-Tempered Uth Duna’s health pool. In addition, Paralysisis a great choice in multip[layer for its ability to open up large damage windows.

Items

Given the immense size of Arch-Tempered Uth Duna’s HP, a Shock Trap or Pitfall Trap and Tranq Bomb are highly recommended. Luring Pod for triggering turf wars and Flash Pod for interrupting Uth Duna’s charges and water veil regeneration can prove very helpful in the right hands as well.

Finally, Mega Barrel Bomb can prove surprisingly useful as items. Ignoring Uth Duna’s water veil with their damage, easy to set up in places where Uth Duna gets knocked out of the water by rubble, and doing a large amount of damage in a short time span, Arch-Tempered Uth Duna is one of the best monsters for Barrel Bomb usage.

In addition to the increased health and damage, Arch-Tempered Uth Duna possesses three new moves and an altered mechanic. While these are involved in a handful of new combos, the lack of quantity and the slower attack speed of Uth Duna leaves relatively little to be afraid of from these moves alone.

Waves

The waves of Uth Duna have been buffed for her arch-tempered version. In addition to more attacks producing them, the smaller waves now do a moderate amount of chip damage to hunters in addition to knocking them back.

The larger waves have increased their damage as well, still pushing hunters with them. The aerial attacks of certain movesets can dodge these additions to attacks fairly easily, otherwise sticking to the sides of Arch-Tempered Uth Duna where she has no attack capable of creating them is one of the best strategies for avoidance.

Double Swipe

In addition to the normal slow singular strike, the Arch-Tempered Uth Duna now has a quicker double swiping attack that can close the distance between hunters and her rather quickly.

While not exceptionally dangerous on its own, the double swipe tends to follow up attacks like the standing charge which narrows the window in which hunters can punish attacks. Like most of Uth Duna’s moveset, this attack can only be used to attack enemies in front of the Arch-Tempered Uth Duna.

Barrel Roll

This attack is arguably the most powerful addition to Uth Duna’s arch-tempered moveset, covering the greatest weakness that is her side. Indicated by a tilted head and short roar, the Arch-Tempered Uth Duna quickly rolls to one side and covers substantial distance while damaging and knocking back any hunters in her path.

While by far her most powerful move for dealing with hunters camping her sides, it is not an especially common move nor her most damaging. As long as hunters are mindful of Uth Duna’s tells and prepared to move to her front or side to avoid the attack, the attack shouldn’t prove an issue.

Standing Charge

The standing charge is the final of Uth Duna’s moveset, a straightforward but very quick charge directly forward indicated by Uth Duna raising up on hind legs for a moment. Capable of throwing hunters back, temporarily knocking them down, and doing substantial damage, it is not an attack to be underestimated despite the ease to which hunters can dodge to either side. While not always, it is often followed up with Arch-Tempered Uth Duna’s double swipe attack which is best dodged by backing away from it after it passes by with its charge.

Tips & Tricks

Environmental Damage

Uth Duna’s routing is uniquely filled with rubble that can be pulled down with the slinger to do great damage to the monster and stun her for a short amount of time. The two loch ruins in Area 17 and the unstable rubble in Area 13 are both positioned to knock Uth Duna out of the water and are very valuable as the only way to damage her during these swimming animations.

All of the aforementioned rubble take time to fall, and therefore it is important to keep in mind that they need to be pulled down before the Arch-Tempered Uth Duna is beneath them. The unstable rubble in Area 13 is especially important, as successfully landing it will knock Uth Duna out of the water and into a location in which she does not otherwise fight in. The two bits of rubble in Area 15 and Area 12 are more forgiving, dealing great damage and briefly stunning Uth Duna but not knocking her out of any swimming animations and therefore having a greater window to drop them.

Wedge Beetles

While only present in Uth Duna’s spawning location, the wedge beetles are a very useful movement tool. Able to launch hunters over most attacks and waves, as well as trigger riding attacks and land focus-strikes on Uth Duna’s top, the beetles are likely the best movement that hunters will have access to during the fight, especially if they neglect to bring along skills that increase movement in water.

Capturing

With a large health pool and regenerating shield, killing the Arch-Tempered Uth Duna takes a very long time. Capturing her instead tends to be a good idea given how her most powerful attacks can instantly turn full health into a failed hunt, and the process is very easy because of her slow movement and her vulnerability to both types of traps.

Positioning

Noticeably, the vast majority of Uth Duna’s attacks are aimed forwards. Sticking to her sides and back makes you more liable to hit her water veil, but forces her to rotate, use her weak behind attacks, or on rare occasions do her new barrel roll attack. Compared to her powerful frontal attacks, these are all generally better options.

Temporary Weaknesses

Identical to the standard Uth Duna, Arch-Tempered Uth Duna has a leaping attack where they jump forward and spiral in the air before landing. On occasion, this will prompt a temporary weakness in Uth Duna’s mouth, which can be focus-struck to prompt a short stun and deal substantial damage.

• Body Weak Points: Mouth
• Severable Points: None
• Breakable Points: Head, Tail, Forelegs

Sharing the standard weaknesses and strengths of its normal counterpart, it is important to note Uth Duna’s Veil. Not listed on the field guide entry of breakable parts, Uth Duna features a large veil of water that protects its back from attacks.

This is a breakable part that alters Uth Duna’s moveset while broken and can be regenerated. It is generally not recommended to break Arch-Tempered Uth Duna’s waterveil as it has a very substantial health pool and prompts the monster into launching less-damaging but substantially quicker attacks.

Uth Duna can only be encountered in a fixed environment featuring Tempered Rathalos, Doshaguma, Mizutsune, and Tempered Yian Kut-Ku. As the apex predator of the region and arch-tempered, Uth Duna will easily win any turf war, but the Tempered Rathalos is by far the best option for doing damage with its ranged breath attacks.

Uth Duna's Set Bonus is Uth Duna's Cover = Protective Veil I / Protective Veil II which grants increased defense and resistance temporarily when using a specialized tool.

Arch-Tempered Uth Duna’s notable equipment skills are Protective Veil II and Guts (Tenacity).

Protective Veil is a powerful skill that can temporarily increase defense and resistance when using a specialized tool like a mantle, though some mantles with shorter cooldowns can keep this skill up constantly. Guts is a powerful skill also present on the Rey Dau armor that boosts attack, lowers defense, and allows you to survive one lethal hit before boosting defense and resistance.